DARPA to optimize bandwidth access for military, commercial use

PARIS--The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) said it launched an initiative to improve radar and communications capabilities for military and commercial users by creating technical solutions that enable spectrum sharing.

DARPA said the Shared Spectrum Access for Radar and Communications (SSPARC) program aims to support two types of spectrum sharing, namely military radars sharing spectrum with military communications networks and military radars sharing spectrum with commercial communications networks.

The SSPARC research program will work on spectrum sharing technologies for rapid adoption and longer-term changes to radar and communications systems design. For the rapid adoption portion of the program, DARPA said it aims to develop software and cost-effective upgrades to existing systems enabling deployment within the next five to eight years.

“We see a technical approach based on cooperation between radars and communications networks as a ‘win-win’ for the military and commercial communities,” said John Chapin, DARPA program manager. “A key goal is to enable increased spectrum access for the systems while ensuring military security needs are protected.”